A novel C-terminal heat shock protein 90 inhibitor that overcomes STAT3-Wnt-β-catenin signaling-mediated drug resistance and adverse effects

These data indicate the potential of STAT3/Wnt signaling pathway as a target to overcome resistance to Hsp90 inhibitors and NCT-80 as a novel Hsp90 inhibitor that targets both CSCs and non-CSCs in NSCLC.

The underlying mechanism of resistance to Hsp90 inhibitors was investigated by colony formation assay, sphere formation assay, western blot analysis, and real-time PCR. To develop anticancer Hsp90 inhibitors that overcome the signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3)-mediated resistance, we synthesized and screened a series of synthetic deguelin-based compounds in terms of inhibition of colony formation, migration, and viability of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells and toxicity to normal cells. Regulation of Hsp90 by the selected compound NCT-80 [5-methoxy-N-(3-methoxy-4-(2-(pyridin-3-yl)ethoxy)phenyl)-2,2-dimethyl-2H-chromene-6-carboxamide] was investigated by immunoprecipitation, drug affinity responsive target stability assay, binding experiments using ATP-agarose beads and biotinylated drug, and docking analysis. The antitumor, antimetastatic, and anti-CSC effects of NCT-80 were examined in vitro and in vivo using various assays such as MTT, colony formation, and migration assays and flow cytometric analysis and tumor xenograft models.

We demonstrated a distinct mechanism in which Hsp90 inhibitors that block N-terminal ATP-binding pocket causes transcriptional upregulation of Wnt ligands through Akt- and ERK-mediated activation of STAT3, resulting in NSCLC cell survival in an autocrine or paracrine manner. In addition, NCT-80 effectively reduced viability, colony formation, migration, and CSC-like phenotypes of NSCLC cells and their sublines with acquired resistance to anticancer drugs by inducing apoptosis and inhibiting epithelial-mesenchymal transition and the growth of NSCLC patient-derived xenograft tumors without overt toxicity. With regards to mechanism, NCT-80 directly bound to the C-terminal ATP-binding pocket of Hsp90, disrupting the interaction between Hsp90 and STAT3 and degrading STAT3 protein. Moreover, NCT-80 inhibited chemotherapy- and EGFR TKI-induced programmed cell death ligand 1 expression and potentiated the antitumor effect of chemotherapy in the LLC-Luc allograft model. Conclusions: These data indicate the potential of STAT3/Wnt signaling pathway as a target to overcome resistance to Hsp90 inhibitors and NCT-80 as a novel Hsp90 inhibitor that targets both CSCs and non-CSCs in NSCLC.